Post-office drawer



rluuLuv UK qlqjv (NoModal.)

W.' G. STEINMETZ 8v CHAMBERS". 'Post Offio Drawer.

No; 241.439. PwrenwdI May lo, 188|.

f frame and drawer;

vvuulllull-v UNITEDl STATES) lvll nl.

PATENTIOFFICE.

winni/eau o.. srnINME'rz AND JOHN L. CHAMBERS, on BeooKLYN, nnwvok.

Post-OFFICE DRAWER.,

erneisrcrrox fomng pai-t -uf To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that we, WILLIAM Gr. STEIN! METZ an d JOHN L. CHAMBERS, of Brooklyn. in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new land usefullmprovement in Post-Office Drawers for Mail-Matter; and we hereby declare that the following isafull,'clear, and-exact description 'of the same,1referex-xce being had tothe accompanying drawings, Amaking part of this specification.

This invention isin fthe ,natureot' an im provement in post-ofice drawers for inail-matter.

Theinvention consists in openwooden framework containing andin combination .with postoilce drawers, open at their rear-ends for the' insertionofletters, Ste., and their opposite ends` provided with hinged metal fronts, which close the front ends of tl1'e.bo1 ces,.and cover, inpa rt, the' froi'rt-'lgesofthewoodenflm'ewvol'lt,"the" metal fronts havin g angeson theirin ner faces, and provided with locks, whereby the drawers may be securedwithin the wooden frame-work which supports them. 'l

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Fig-l ure l represents a'perspective'view of wooden frames with d rawers accordin g to our i nvention Fig. 2, a. part longitl'nlml'section of wooden Fig. 3, a part longitudinal section ofwooden pigeon-hole with hinged door, but without drawer; Fig. 4, section showing lnodtication of flanges and hinges for doors, and Fig. 5 modification showing hinged sectional drawer.

Si milarletters of reference indicatelike parts in the several figures.v

To provide a safe and at the same time easily-accessible device forthe reception and dclivery of mail-matter is the main purpose of this invention. To that end we construct a. series of wooden frames, A, open front and rear, and of any desired'size. Within these frames are placed drawers B, made of wood or metal.

The rear ends of these drawers are open, as at a. Hinged to the lower sides of the front ends of the drawers are nietal fronts C, these fronts being of a size sniieie'nt to close, when in the locked position, not 4only the front opening` of the drawers, but also to cover their front edges b, and to some extent the front edges c of thc frame-work A. Gast with or otherwise secured to the inner faces of the drawer-fronts C arel A'p'piication 4filed January ,24, 1881.

. flanges may be divided into two parts,

"referir-ino: azaa mi?" Tenis (No model.)

D,of sufficient width to enter well into the front opening of the drawer atQits' sides, and of anyconvenient shape, with an angular edge, d. Tothe'upper part of the fronts G are fixed locks e.'

Nowour postoice drawers lbeing arranged in .a series within the post-oce, the mail-matter is inserted through the open rear ends of the wooden frames and'drawer, and the box renter,-with his key,

wooden framework, inserts' the edge of. the front in his pouch, for which it acts as a mail-matter. tol descend from the drawer into his pouch, returning the drawer to the wooden frame-work, and-turning up andlloc in fronti 'TheT b'dl t the locks,"'ert'cfiiI wooden frame-workA, the wooden frame-work reception ofthe next mail. The anges l), fixed to the inner faces ofthe. drawer-fronts C, not only sti'en and give the sides of the drawer when they. are within it, as when the frontisin theloeked position, but they also act as guards to prevent the mail-matter from falling from the sides ofthe vfrontwhen ,the mail is withdrawn, and, besides,"Y

they offer obstruction to the introduction of in stru ments by unauthorized persons for the purpose of forcing the drawer ontwa'd. The sides of the drawer will be recessed, as at f, to receive the anges, so that they willlie flush Within the sides ot' the struction to the freedelivery of letters. &c.

The drawer-front C may be hingeddirectly to the bottom E of the drawers the upper-part whchlower heing'hinged to the lower part, g,

but preferabl y drawer and oier no ob- B; or the front unlocks the look c, pe-rm'itting thefront to fall 'parallel-'with and in continuation of the bottom of .the drawer, and pulls the drawer out from the y hopper, and allowsft'he if?, fixes the drawer withlrr and secures it for the part is fastened to the bottom E of the drawer.

(See Figs. 1 and 2.) v y The fronts, covering, as they do, the edges of the drawers withm the frame A, and also, in

part the edge c of -the wooden frames themselves, not only vprotect the edges of the drawers, but, by permitting the several fronts in the entire series of fronts to abut, all the front ed ges ot' the wooden frame-work are likewise covered.-

aid protected from the introduction of instrumentsfor thepurpose of forciugopeu thefronts.

e 'l v l 241,439

In constructing these drawers stops h may' -be fixed to their sides, against which the edges `of the flanges D may strike, thereby relieving .the hinges from undue strain and limiting thev drop of the front.

It' desired, instead of employing the ordinary hinge, the anges D may have slots i formed in them, with bolts passingthrongh the slots and sides of the'drawers. With this construction, however, a shoulder, j, should be formed in the'bottom of the drawer, so thatl make a'servieeable post-office letter-box for oro l. 'dnary use. (See Fig. .'5.)

' For the admission of light, and to enable the "boxrenter to look into his box without unlocking the drawer-front, a window may be inserted in the drawer-front, it' desired.

Fig. 5 is a modiiication of our post-otioe drawer. This drawer is made in twosections, m and n, hinged together, as at o, so that when the drawer is pulled out the front section, m,

lwxifwill drop, as is shown in the figure.

' Hawiing thus describedour-invention, what 3o i we claim asnew, and-desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-

1. A series of drawers for the reception and delivery of mail-matter, with hinged metal fronts having locks, in combination with snit.- 35

able open woodenframework to receive the drawers, which 'drawers are'open at their rear ends and closed at their other ends by the n'ietal fronts, the fronts being hinged to or near the bottom of'tliedrawers, and covering the front 4e edges b of thedrawersandin part the front edges c ot'v the woodenframe-work, and the inner faces ot' the fronts having ianges to enter into the drawers, substantially. as and forv the purpose described. 45

2. A post-office drawer open'atits roar end and'provided with a-metal front hinged to the Y bottom thereof,-and composed of hinged sections 'm and n', iny combination with supporting frame-work A, substantially as and for the pnr- 5o pose described.

WILLIAM G. STEINMETZ. JOHN L. CHAMBERS..

Witnesses: 1

- H. L. WATTENBERG, G. M. PLYMPTON. 

